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June 12, 2008
A time to become your own leader: You Can’t Outsource Your Future
While there are times you may ask as many people as you like for advise for what YOU should do in any given situation, in the end, YOU are the person responsible for living your life. You are the person whose life will be affected by the decisions you make. While some people may live their lives vicariously through the life of others, there comes a time when you need to make your own decisions and you need to take responsibility for what you do.
I remember many times in High School and even in College in “going with the flow” and taking classes because certain friends were in them. But I found myself taking courses I had otherwise no interest in. Same can be said for many of the social decisions I made growing up.
In life we are always facing such decisions, no matter how old (or young) we are. And there comes a time when the voice inside your head needs to take over and become the responsible party for taking actions for all of the suggestions you are hearing outside your head. Yes, this is sometimes a hard transition to make, but one that we all at some point in our lives had to make. There is a time where you need to become your own leader.
“Lead, Follow or Get out of the Way” is something I’ve heard many times over the years. But when it comes to YOUR life, you need to be your own leader, not a follower. The sooner you realize this, the sooner you will be able to better control the situations you find yourself in.
This is your life. Live it the way you feel you should, the way you want You can’t outsource your future. From my experience, the best I can do when facing difficult decisions is to known when to ask: parents/relatives/friends/professionals for their advice but then have the courage to do what it is that I think I should be doing. Do this for yourself and not for the others. You are the responsible party here. This is your life. Now learn to live it!
Tags: Entrepreneurship, leadership, Entrepreneur, Jeff Pulver
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Posted by jeff on June 12, 2008 04:09 PM | Permalink
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Comments
Hi Jeff,
I totally agree with what you said. Indeed these are words of wisdom.
Posted by: stormwhistle at June 16, 2008 02:54 AM
This is awesome--I'm going to tag it and refer back to it often. Can you tell I need the reminder? :-)
Posted by: mousewords at June 13, 2008 07:07 PM
I've been out of my comfort zone for a long long time and all the better for it.
I often wonder how much happier I'd be (or not) if I was in a nice cozy office with job security etc but I know I'd be influenced into being less authentic, and learning less in the process.
You can say that the painter Paul Gauguin could have remained a stockbroker and painted in his spare time, saved his money and retired early to resettle in Tahiti and could have painted similar paintings, but we know deep down, it was the struggle against doing what was 'sensible' that pushed him to greatness.
Risk is a factor in success!!!
Posted by: Darren Daz Cox at June 13, 2008 11:26 AM
Another great post, Jeff!
Having spent the last 12 months making some very difficult (and life changing) decisions - often against the advice of others - I agree with this. YOU are the only one who can decide what will or will not be right for YOU. Sometimes it's a lonely road but never for long and the road leads to good things (and often kindred spirits) ultimately.
Posted by: Merlene Paynter at June 13, 2008 07:00 AM
Very good post. Even i came across such situations of attending classes, because my friends are attending and i found nothing. Living life the way of others will definitely leads to many hurdles in life. We should never change our actions depending on others emotions. We should decide what we want to do in life by looking what interests us, but not by looking what our friends are doing........
Thanks Jeff.
Posted by: Mohammed Shahbaaz Hussain at June 13, 2008 04:06 AM
I completely agree. I experienced myself what it means not taking a decision by yourself, but let others to do that for you, even indirectly.
It's hard to do, but you have to be the decision maker of your life.
Posted by: Francesco Federico at June 13, 2008 04:00 AM
Jeff, fantastic post. I recently had to be my own leader when I chose to leave a comfortable regular job to pursue my entrepreneurial dreams. Sure, I asked for some advice, but ultimately I know I have to be the one to own my own destiny. And that kind of conviction takes a little courage and a leap of faith now and again, but I can't think of anyone with a remarkable career that just followed the flow. Thanks for the ignition!
Posted by: Amber Naslund at June 12, 2008 10:24 PM
Great post.
Posted by: olivier blanchard at June 12, 2008 10:17 PM